Poison
by jakiratsenekazu
Summary: Tony Stark suffers from radiation poisoning due to the nuclear missile exploding so close to him and his suit was not enough to protect him. Who better to cure him than Doctor Banner?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Guys, I'm a law student. I don't even know why I'm writing about sciencey-stuff. Maybe it's because of my love for the Science-Bros in this Marvel universe. It's nice to see Bruce Banner being appreciated by other Marvel heroes, so I do love **_**The Avengers**_** for that reason. I hope you all will help me with the science-stuff as I go along for that reason.**

**Anyway, thank you all for favoriting my stories and subscribing to me and the stories. It's very much appreciated. It seriously makes my day to see these messages in my inbox (that's not too depressing, is it?) I'm waiting for my friend to write up the next chapter of **_**Silly Avengers! Tricks are for Gods!**_** because I have no idea where the Hell she wants to go with it. XD Until then, I have decided to write my own multi-chapter story. This will mostly be about the Science-Bros, but I might include the other Avengers to see if I can delve into their mind-sets.**

It had been two weeks since the Chitauri invasion and Bruce Banner had already made his new home in Kenya.

He was grateful for the easy leave that the director had given him… or at least the head-start he had given him. He was given a security pass to be flown wherever in the world he wanted to go and only the director knew where he was going. It had almost been too easy to leave New York.

It was only supposed to be a simple ride to the airport.

Of course, considering that said ride came from Tony Stark, it couldn't be a simple ride to the airport. Instead of what Banner thought was going to be a quiet drive with only his thoughts as entertainment. It was awkwardness, sheer awkwardness, that he was pulled into as Stark ranted on and on about how Bruce should stay with him. He supposed the fact that he turned into a giant, raging monster that has killed many and destroyed part of New York would have been a cause to stay as far away from New York and its people as much as possible. Tony seemed to just brush it off as a minor inconvenience. In the end, Tony had unwillingly driven him to the airport.

As Banner tried to get on board, Tony had stopped him and handed him a gift; a portable tablet that was suited for his studies that was "up-to-date" because "seriously, Banner. Who the Hell use Dell's anymore?". Seeing that Tony wouldn't take "no" for an answer, Bruce took it and thanked him as he boarded the plane.

Bruce sighed and brushed a hand through his hair, remembering the last time he had seen Tony Stark. It had been a long day. He had been in the local village providing as much medical care as he could until he ran out of supplies for the day and he was heading to his make-shift home on the outskirts of the village. As he was walking, he thought back to his time that he was asked politely to come aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. He remembered seeing Natasha Romanoff, fear still deep within her eyes at the very sight of him. He remembered Steve Rogers, the man whose serum he failed to produce, whose politeness was just a ruse of anxiety at the very idea of making him angry. Then, he remembered Tony Stark.

Tony Stark took him in without feigning kindness. He complimented his work and immediately set out on getting to know himbetter. _The_ Tony Stark was expressing interest in him, the monster. But it wasn't the monster he wanted to talk to, but Bruce himself. He never showed the slightest bit of fear, even going so far as to see what could provoke him. Bruce felt the corners of his lips twitching upwards as he shook his head and sighed, gazing up from his feet knowing that he was just several feet from his hut.

There was a car in front of his home.

Bruce froze on the spot and quickly ducked behind a tree to obscure himself from view. Immediately, he thought up a plan. Leave now and don't ever come back. It was simple enough. He didn't own any material objects that he couldn't easily replace.

Shit, the tablet.

He would feel guilt for the rest of his life if he left Tony's tablet behind and he already had enough guilt weighing on his conscience. Okay, new plan. Leave now and come back in a week. Hopefully the people here to see him would be long gone and had not found where he hid the tablet. That was best. Then he could go somewhere else. Maybe the Congo needed him. He had even heard of some land in Africa that didn't take in outsiders that could-

His thoughts were interrupted at the sound of a car door slamming.

Bruce froze once more, paralyzed on the spot. He heard light footsteps moving quickly towards him and, with that sound; he readied his own feet to move as fast as they could.

"Doctor Banner! Please, wait!"

A pale woman with orange hair came into his sight, her clothes not of any type of uniform and her face stained with tears and soiled make-up.

Bruce stood up straight and watched as the woman sprinted to his side, panting for breath.

"Please! P-please don't run. I ne-need your h-help."

Bruce sighed. Wasn't it a girl crying to him for help that got him taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D.? It's like every girl knew his weakness; his need to help others to atone for the harm he has done as his other self.

"Calm down," he said softly. "What do you need?"

The orange-haired woman grasped his arms, making Bruce take a small step backwards at the contact. The woman didn't seem to take notice.

"Doctor Banner. You are the Dr. Banner that worked with Tony Stark and with S.H.I.E.L.D., right?" Bruce flinched and quickly narrowed his eyes. Of course it was a trap. It was always a trap.

"No, no! Wait! I know about you but I'm not here to harm you." Bruce had thrown her hands off of his and started quickly towards his home. If he could just get that tablet he could probably get out of there quick enough.

"Tony's in trouble!"

Bruce stopped in his steps immediately. There was a pause, a moment of silence, as Bruce let the woman's words sink in.

"Please. My name is Virginia Potts. I am CEO of Stark Industries and I know Tony on a very personal level." Bruce turned around just in time to see a new set of tears flood in Pepper's eyes. "There's something wrong with Tony. I didn't know what to do, but I had JARVIS look over him and he said that he had some kind of radiation poisoning and I don't know what to do and Tony doesn't trust doctors but he really likes you and you know a lot about radiation so please if you could just-"

"Ms. Potts, please," Bruce interrupted her panicked ramblings. As Pepper finally let her tears fall, he thought once more about Tony. His arrogant smile, his ego, his sarcasm, his intelligence quips…

…his acceptance, his kindness, his friendship.

Bruce knew that he had no choice.

"Ms. Potts, please take me to him."

**Herp derp. I'm terrible at introductions.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Guys, I love you all so much. I love you more than the Son of Coul loves Capsicle. I love you all more than Thor loves his Poptarts. Will you marry me? Seriously. We can get married in a Vegas drive-thru wedding and then have our honeymoon at Comic-Con. **

**Anyway, I REALLY appreciate everything so far. I woke up in the foulest of moods the day after I posted the first chapter and my mood instantly brightened when I saw all of the support. Thank you all so much.**

Once Bruce joined Pepper in her company car, they were instantly whisked away to the nearest "airport" just to find a small jet with Tony's name written all over it. When they boarded and finally took off, Pepper seemed incredibly relieved, as if all was right with the world and she could go about her business in a few moments. Bruce had taken that time of calmness to ask about Tony's condition. Pepper had answered that not too long after arriving at Stark Tower, Tony had become nauseous. At first she had thought that it was exhaustion, but things had gotten worse. His vomit was soon died red with blood, he was hungry but could not eat, he had headaches and had ran a high fever, and his wounds from the battle were still not healed properly.

Tony definitely had radiation poisoning.

The rest of the flight was quiet. Pepper had fallen asleep from her own exhaustion, leaving Bruce to his thoughts. He had spaced out for so long that he did not realize that the jet had landed and a company car had arrived to drive them to Stark Tower. When they arrived, they swiftly moved towards the elevator and stood still as they were transported higher into the tower. Bruce wasn't surprised at the short trip in the elevator. After all, the tower's highest floors were probably in repair at the moment. This was probably not the safest environment to keep a sick man, but he knew that Pepper was probably too afraid to move him.

The elevator door opened to reveal a hall with several bedrooms. Pepper asked for Bruce to shower before they entered Tony's room, not wanting his already weak immune system to catch something from the great wilderness that is Africa. Bruce complied and not too long after met with Pepper in front of the elevator.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a quarantined room with a handful of doctors running about, talking over lab equipment. A doctor arrived and gave the pair masks to cover their mouths and asked them to at least wash their hands. Pepper walked behind the doctor, wringing her hands nervously and taking a sudden interest in her own moving feet. Bruce was pushing past doctors to get to the one person whom he could consider a friend.

There he was, true to Pepper's word; pale, thin, hair wet with sweat, and completely sick.

"Tony," Pepper spoke to him softly as she walked in front of Bruce and towards his bed. "Tony, I brought him. He's here."

Tony slowly turned his head towards their direction, his eyes a husk of what they once were that made Bruce's heart stop. Breathe, Banner. Breathe. Tony lips twitched weakly upward at the sight of the man.

"Brucie!" Tony's unnaturally soft voice cracked, obviously not having used it in a while. "I'm so glad you're here!" He turned his attention to the doctors that had stopped to watch him speak.

"All of you can leave now. I don't need all of you incompetent bastards running around while Doctor Banner is here _actually _doing work." Tony bolted up as he started coughing into his hand, red staining it more and more. Bruce placed his hands on Tony's arms and softly pushed him back into bed.

"Um, excuse me please?" Bruce called to the doctors. "I think you all can go home today. I need to run some tests. Perhaps I could use you all tomorrow."

Bruce wasn't entirely sure if he had the authority to do so, but the doctors left almost immediately. Either they were tired of not having a good result or they were tired of Tony's shenanigans.

It was probably the latter.

Within minutes, the room was suddenly silent, large, and empty; its only occupants being Tony, Pepper, and Bruce.

Bruce immediately went to work, his mind focused on nothing but the project at hand. He had found a Geiger Counter nearby and had started running it over Tony's body.

"So," Tony coughed again. "How did your African Hell-Hole treat ya?"

"Tony! Shut up and lie down," Pepper scolded. "You need to rest and Doctor Banner needs to concentrate."

Bruce chose to ignore Tony. He knew that if he granted him an answer, that it would be Tony's cue to start up a giant rant that he would continue until he knocked himself unconscious. He didn't think Pepper would be too happy with him, so instead he busied himself with his readings and his recordings as JARVIS gave him a place to record and showed him all of the data collected so far. Bruce finished up several minutes later and placed the Geiger Counter back on its counter.

"So, Doc? What's the news? Is it going to be a boy or a girl?"

Pepper lightly slapped at his arm, trying not to harm him. "Tony! Can't you ever take your health seriously?"

"Well, I have some good news and bad news," Bruce said, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with his shirt. Tony seemed unfazed while Pepper looked like she was going to drop dead then and there.

"The good news is that you only have 2 Gy, or two hundred rads, of radiation. With the proper treatment of Potassium Iodide, you should be just fine." Pepper let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. Tony looked a little disappointed.

"Well, that's not very dramatic." Pepper hit him again. "Does that mean that I don't get a Hulk?"

"No, Tony. It would be impossible for you to have a Hulk."

"Damn."

"Wait, then what's the bad news?" Pepper asked, fear stirring in her voice once more.

"Well," Bruce said as he put his glasses back on his face, a small smirk rising on his face. "The bad news is that he'll be up and running soon."

**SO. MUCH. RESEARCH.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Dearest readers, I love you all. I love seeing all of your messages in my inbox. It makes me a happy panda. However, I just wanted to let you all know that I will be INCREDIBLY busy these next few weeks. On the 20****th****, I am moving into a new apartment with my boyfriend and I have family coming down for a week. I have to drive to Savannah, Georgia to go on my beloved ghost tours for a few days, come back to Florida and take my cousin to Islands of Adventure (I've gone so many times but I have never ridden the Hulk! Time for a change!), and then once they leave more family members will show up, then I'll be graduating college, and then right after that I start orientation for law school (with law school starting just a few days later.) So, yes, I will be incredibly busy. Will there be updates to this story within that time? Hopefully. If I cannot, then my note-taking for orientation will be me just writing a new chapter because I DO WHAT I WANTTTT.**

**Oh, and no Banner in my Iron Man 3? Screw you; I'll just write fan fiction.**

It had been a few weeks since Tony's predicament was discovered and he had been recovering very well. It had turned out that Tony's suit had protected him from the most harmful radiation. Just as Bruce predicted, he wanted to get out of bed barely a day after he started treatment. Pepper looked like she need more booze than Tony's bars could provide. However, after a while, Bruce finally let him out of bed provided he used a wheelchair and had someone with him no matter what. Soon enough, Tony was making his temporary wheelchair into something that was fitfor Iron Man. Bruce felt he had the duty of watching over him.

He had enjoyed that.

It had been far too long since he had been with such an intellectual mind. He remembered those feelings of being with the genius on the helicarrier about a month ago. Tony would be able to list off technical jargon that Bruce could pick up on immediately. Tony would compliment him, have him work on parts of his Iron Wheelchair that he knew he could trust no one to do properly, and even threw in a few sexual jokes. All of this made Bruce smile a genuine smile. Bruce never smiled for anyone anymore. Ironically, he felt calmer with the chaotic Tony Stark then he ever did with Buddhist monks. It felt wonderful to have such great company.

It was a shame that he had to leave.

Bruce Banner was in one of the guest rooms on Tony's floor, packing a bag placed on his bed with a few days' worth of clothes. This didn't take too long. He walked over to his dresser, tablet in hand, and sighed. He couldn't live with such an expensive device. It was too much to take that gift from Tony and he regretted having it since he first boarded his flight out of New York. He placed it on the dresser, grabbed his bag, and turned towards the door…

…Just to find Tony Stark blocking the doorway.

Bruce jumped a tad in surprise and then took a deep breath to calm down. Tony remained in his wheelchair, unflinching.

"Banner, where are you off to?"

Bruce let out a sigh and turned his head away, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "Tony, you know what's happening. You aren't an idiot."

"Well, obviously I'm not an idiot," Stark snorted. "What I'm not is a mind-reader. Therefore, I'll ask again: where are you off to?"

"Tony, I have to leave."

"Why?"

"I've…I've over-stayed my welcome."

Tony let out a huff, "Over-stayed? You've over-stayed your welcome? Are you fucking serious?" Bruce flinched and wringed his hands together. "You saved my life, _twice_ by the way, and you think that I would just kick you out after I get better? That hurts. That really hurts."

"You know it's not like that!" Bruce muttered, eyes focused on his wringing hands. "I can't be here. It's too crowded. There are too many people that can get hurt… that _I _can hurt! I can't get comfortable here; I can't let my guard down."

"Bruce, you know damn well that is a lie," Tony pointed at him. "When the Chitauri invaded, you never once harmed a human being! In fact, you saved those humans!"

"That wasn't me," Bruce shook. "That was pure luck."

"You know, you have a lot better grip on your anger issues than you think. If you stayed here, you could…"

"I could what?" Bruce raised his voice, causing Tony to abruptly stop. "I could stay in one spot? That'll be fantastic for the Hulk Busters! I could get comfy here in Stark Tower? I'll kill everyone!" Bruce breathed in deeply, and spoke to Tony once more in a calmer voice.  
"Just back off, Mr. Stark. I'm not meant to live a normal, human life. I'm a monster. The only good thing I can do is live in solitary and help out where only my medical skills are needed." With that, he straightened up a bit and walked towards the doorway. Tony threw his arms up to block him.

"Mr. Stark, please move out of the way."

"Nope, I can't let you do that," Tony's eyes bored into Bruce's. "You think that you're a monster. You think that all you do is harm. Well, guess what? You have saved so many lives and you have touched a lot of people. You can't avoid mankind, Bruce. No matter what happens, there will always be someone who needs you. In fact, I kind of need you right now. I'm kind of still in need of radiation treatment and you are my doctor. Don't act like the stereotypical doctor and leave the country when the patient needs you most."

"You don't need me, Tony. The last of your treatments can be taken care of by Ms. Potts or even yourself. Now please, let me go."

"So, you're just going to run away?" Tony yelled. "You're seriously just going to run off and hide from the big scary people in suits because you don't think that you deserve a better life than what you have? Well, guess what?" Tony turned his head towards the security camera in the corner. "JARVIS, lock all of the doors leading out of Stark Tower." Tony turned his head back towards Bruce. "If you want to run, run. But I'm not letting you go without a fight." With difficulty, Tony rose from his wheelchair and faced Bruce with a look of determination. "If you can get me out of the way, I'll let you go off to wherever the middle of bum-fuck nowhere you want to go."

Bruce dropped his bag and walked towards Tony. "Tony, this is insane. Get back in your wheelchair now." Bruce placed his hands on Tony's shoulders gently and started lowering him down just to receive a weak punch to the face.

Bruce flinched and flew backwards in surprise, a hand shooting up to hold his jaw. A familiar presence within him was stirring.

"Tony, what the Hell?"

"I'm not joking around, Banner. I'm not letting you go without a fight."

"Get back in your wheelchair, Tony."

"Stay with me, Bruce."

"This isn't funny!"

"I'm not laughing."

"_Tony…"_ Bruce warned dangerously, his voice taking a deeper tone.

"What, am I making you angry? Good. Maybe Hulk will put up a better fight than you. This is just pathetic."

Bruce growled and turned away, his hand pinching the bridge of his nose. He tried to breathe deeply and smoothly. He started counting slowly, his jagged breaths moving much faster than his counts. He felt his nerve endings twitch, his muscles and head aching, and his eyesight going black. He heard himself clench his fists. He heard his bones crack.

He heard a thump on the floor behind him.

Bruce turned swiftly to see Tony convulsing on the ground. The sight of Tony going through a seizure made him forget his anger completely as he ran towards him and fell to his side.

"Tony, it's okay," Bruce rushed out, holding down the other man's legs quickly. "Tony, I'm here. I'll stay. Please, it's going to be okay."

After a couple of minutes, Tony had stopped convulsing and lied still. Bruce had been able to lift him up onto his wheelchair and strap him in, pushing him straight towards the medical area.

"JARVIS, please send the doctors to the medical ward immediately!" Bruce yelled.

"Absolutely, sir," the AI replied.

Bruce didn't have to wait longer than a minute for help to arrive as the doctors lifted Tony out of his chair and onto the bed. Before they could even get him on the bed, Bruce was placing heart monitors on his temples, praying to whatever deity it was who loved to torture him that Tony was still breathing.

The deity was torturing him once more.

Bruce started pumping his hands on Tony's chest, trying his best to get him breathing once more as he shouted for the doctors to prepare a defibrillator. He looked at Tony's chest, realizing that the arc reactor had stopped glowing its normal blue.

Bruce moved away from Tony as the defibrillator came. "I want you all to try to shock him. Maybe that can jump-start his arc reactor. JARVIS, where does Tony keep his extra reactors?" JARVIS wordlessly opened a wall immediately and a shelf opened up to reveal the extra arc reactors. Bruce looked over one of the reactor, learning about its energy and its way of being placed into Tony's body as quickly as possible as he ran back towards Tony's bed. The doctors immediately backed away as Bruce approached. Bruce popped the buttons off of Tony's shirt and looked at the reactor in his chest. He immediately found the area to pull out the old one and then placed in the new reactor. As soon as he had thrown the old reactor away, the new one came to life and Tony breathed in once more.

The doctors cheered and Bruce wiped the sweat off of his brow as Tony's monitor showed normal signs.

As the doctors realized they were no longer needed there after a few minutes, they dispersed to leave Tony and Bruce behind. Bruce sat down in a chair by the bed as Tony tried to sit up.

"So… thanks for saving my life for the third time."

"I should start charging you," Bruce sighed.

They sat together in silence for a few moments.

"So, you said that you were going to stay with me?"

"Tony…"

"I told you that I needed you."

"…I know."

"I am always right."

Bruce didn't respond, but the soft smile on his lips and the shake of his head were the only answer Tony needed.

**P.S. to one of my guest reviewers: I am probably the most dramatic person on the planet. Trust me; I am nowhere close to letting things end so easily. ;)**

**THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: ERMERGERD, GAIZ. I am SO sorry! I totally forgot to tell you all that this is NOT a slash fiction. I have never even written smut before, so it would probably be terrible (though better porn than in 50 Shades of Gray). Besides that, Bruce Banner can't even have sex in the movies. So, yeah. I'm sorry to those of you that were looking for smut. Hopefully this story will entertain you enough. **

**Also! Thank you, fsmunsta for your critique. I'm still used to writing for papers and not for stories. XD And thank you, all of you, for favoriting, writing reviews, following, and all of that other good stuff. It keeps this story going.**

**By the way, if any of you want to message me, feel free. I have a yahoo account with the name fireangel92. I know that you can't put links up here, so you can just email me with that name. I can also take requests (if I can write that day). It's a lot easier for me to write if I already have an idea in my head. It also helps because I think I might finish this story in two or three chapters and I have no idea what to do after this.**

Tony Stark was in the final stages of his recovery.

He had his medical records tracked very carefully by Dr. Banner himself throughout the remaining weeks. It turned out that his arc reactor had needed to be changed but it was forgotten with the events that had been occurring. After placing in the changed arc reactor, Tony was doing much better. He still showed symptoms of poisoning, but one could clearly tell that he was doing better. Now, Tony had stopped relying on his wheelchair as much as he usually did and had been ushered by Pepper to start working once again.

On the day that Bruce gave his permission for Tony to leave the tower, Tony was forced by Pepper to make-up for his missed press conferences. As Tony was dragged out the door, he yelled to Bruce to make himself at home and gave him free reign of one of the labs.

When the door was shut, Bruce found himself surrounded by silence.

He was completely alone for the first time in about a month and the silence felt odd. Granted, he spent most of his life in silence, but being in the tower without Stark gabbing in his ear or Pepper scolding the talkative man, the silence was almost too much for him.

Bruce didn't know if he liked that.

Therefore, Bruce started back to the labs to work on his own research in gamma radiation. In-between working on a new suit model and the Iron Wheelchair, Tony had been helping Bruce out the best he could with Bruce's own research. Bruce had appreciated the help and the use of the lab, a luxury that always evaded him due to his condition.

As Bruce lost himself in his work, he hadn't realized that he had worked for three hours already. He looked at the clock and stretched his back, having been arched over the entire time, it was definitely time for a break.

Bruce decided that grabbing a sandwich and a cup of tea was a long enough break for him to handle. He cleaned up the toxic waste that he had been working on to make sure that no one would walk in and mess with it and then headed out the door.

The problem with large places is that Bruce gets lost easily.

He had wandered around for almost an hour searching for some kind of break-room or kitchen before deciding to start from the bottom floor and work his way up. He walked into the private elevator and pressed the basement floor, standing in silence as the elevator pushed downwards. Thinking that he would end up on the floor of the main office, Bruce brushed his hair with his hands and picked at his clothes.

Imagine his surprise when the doors opened to reveal a dark basement with walls filled with machinery.

"Where am I?" Bruce muttered to himself softly as he stepped out of the elevator.

"Sir, you are in Mr. Stark's armory," JARVIS's voice spoke out through the speakers causing Bruce to jump. 'Of course, I could have just asked JARVIS for directions,' he thought.

"Are these his toys? I didn't take Stark for being a gun-lover or collector."

"These are all inventions made by Stark Industries before the company switched to energy production," JARVIS stated.

"I see." Bruce had started wandering about the room, admiring the machines that made Stark the billionaire he was today. As his head moved around the room, he caught sight of a door. When he had finished marveling at the weapons, he went to open the door.

Locked.

"I'm afraid that you cannot enter this room. The contents of this room are classified to Mr. Stark only," JARVIS stated.

"Really? Tony Stark actually keeps something private? What's in there?"

"The contents of this room are classified to Mr. Stark only," JARVIS repeated. Bruce frowned.

"Access code 41793," Bruce stated. JARVIS must not have known that Pepper had given Bruce the codes to all parts of the tower on the flight to New York to make sure he had access to anything and everything that could help Tony.

"Access granted." The lock on the door clicked open and Bruce grasped the handle and opened the door.

The room was pitch black. Bruce reached for a light switch and flicked it on, blinking against the suddenly bright lights. In the middle of the small room stood an Iron Man suit, but this was no ordinary suit.

This suit looked like Tony's Mark VII suit, except large and extremely cumbersome. It had to be at least ten feet tall. The suit was incredibly bulky which meant it was filled to capacity with missiles, lasers, grenades, and anything that a person could possible imagine.

"JARVIS, could you please tell me what this suit is?" Bruce asked, his gaze never leaving the goliath of a suit.

"I cannot tell you, sir. My apologies, but you do not have access to that information."

"Access code 56295."

"Access denied."

"Access code 35545?"

"Access denied."

"Access code 64234."

"Access denied." Bruce pursed his lips. Well, this wasn't aggravating at all, was it? He was ready to give up, running out of access codes that Pepper had given him, when he remembered a special code. Pepper had begged him to only use it in cases of emergencies for Tony's sake. He didn't want to intrude on Stark's business, but just looking at the suit and thinking about how he could not access any information on it with any of his access codes bit at his curiosity. It hurt feeling the horrible guilt that weighed him down as he spoke, "Access code 69812," to JARVIS. He just had to know why Tony would need this war machine.

"Access granted," JARVIS stated. "Sir, this suit was created over a decade ago and was to be sold to the United States military. According to records, Thaddeus Ross had ordered this suit to be used by his personal group. The suit was built but Ross was denied the funds needed to purchase it, so Mr. Anthony Stark had kept it. He had named this suit the "Hulk Buster".

Bruce felt his stomach drop. That was it. That was the big secret Tony kept. As JARVIS continued on about the weapons it possessed, Bruce tuned the AI out with his own thoughts.

Of course Stark had created machines for the military. That was how he made his billions; creating weapons for the government. Of course the military would have been interested in buying weapons made by Stark Industries. Of course Tony would create weapons and sell them to the military.

Of course said weapons would then be used against him.

His memories as the Hulk were always extremely fuzzy, but as he looked at the Stark Industries logo on the Hulk Buster suit, he realized that he had seen that logo before meeting Tony Stark.

He had seen it on a weapon that was pointed directly at his heart.

Bruce took a few shaky steps backwards. He couldn't handle being in the room with that monstrosity of machinery glaring at him. He couldn't handle the thought that the one man who he had started considering a friend had made weapons just for subduing and, eventually, killing him. He especially couldn't handle the sudden stir of a familiar presence in his mind.

He backed right into Tony Stark.

Spinning around quickly, Bruce caught sight of Tony and moved away swiftly. Tony didn't have to put two and two together. By the look on Bruce's face and the displayed Hulk Buster, Tony knew exactly what had just happened.

"Oh, _fuck_," Tony breathed out. Bruce regained some of his composure and rubbed at his temples, his eyes never leaving Tony's feet.

"Bruce, this isn't what it looks like."

Bruce looked up and gave Stark an incredulous look. "What does this look like to you?"

"Bruce, listen. It's going to be okay. This is all…"

"This is _not _okay, Tony!" Bruce yelled, his nerves getting to him. "What…what is this? The _Hulk Buster_? You have got to be joking!"

Tony raised his hands defensively and stepped towards the shaking doctor. "Listen to me, Bruce. Yes, this hunk of junk is called 'The Hulk Buster', but it was made like, forever ago! It was a commission from the military and I couldn't refuse it."

"Of course you couldn't," Bruce answered, his hands twitching at his sides as he finally made eye contact with Stark. "You couldn't resist getting more money to roll around in at someone's expense, could you?"

Tony flinched and looked hurt but quickly changed his expression with that of his business poker face. "Yeah, I probably deserve that. I did create weapons and sold it to anyone so I could make more money. I was bad, I get it. But it's not like I was going to use it on you! I would never do that."

"Why, because you 'got to know the real me and, gee, I'm a swell guy'?" Bruce mocked.

"Look, Bruce. I signed off on the contracts for weapons against you because it all was just paper and business to me. I didn't see the innocent people that were affected by this," Bruce snorted at Tony's last sentence.

"What do you want me to do, apologize for you breaking into my personal shit and getting pissed off at me? That's not going to happen, buddy," Tony spoke, his own aggravation showing in his voice.

"I had access to it. Pepper gave me all of the codes to your rooms, you jack-ass," Bruce swore.

"Sir," JARVIS interrupted. "Doctor Banner's heart rate has increased to 190 beats per minute. Please proceed with caution."

Bruce let out a canned laugh as Tony grew pale. "You aren't going to hurt me, huh? Is that why you have JARVIS tracking my heart rate?"

"Fucking great. Thanks, JARVIS. Good to know that you are always on my side," Tony muttered before quickly answering Bruce. "I did that for your sake, Bruce! Why would I try to hurt you?"

"Why would you try? Why would you try? I'll tell you why, Mr. Stark!" Bruce spat. "It doesn't matter where I go, nor no matter how much effort I put into controlling myself. Every day of my life is the same! I'm a monster, Mr. Stark. A monster that people try helplessly to get onto their good side because, if not, they will end up dead," Bruce's body started shaking all over. "I thought it would be different, you know? Meeting someone who said they appreciated me and then backed up their words. Of course, it was all a lie. Of course you were just using me, _manipulating _me. It's what people do! They think… _you think_…that I am just some mindless monster; and that makes me **very angry.**"

Bruce's skin had started to tint green throughout his rant and, as he finished, the transformation had started. He cried out as his body elongated, as his muscles enlarged and pushed against his skin. The entire process was painful enough just to watch. Tony flinched away from Bruce's gasps and shrieks as he suddenly towered over the billionaire, his once brown eyes now a sharp green.

The Hulk roared as he gained consciousness making Tony step backwards in instinct. Hulk looked down at the man standing below him and snorted through his nose.

"Bruce," Tony said with a breath. Hulk had momentarily looked at him with a wounded look on his face. He roared once more in Tony' direction and leaped through the ceiling, rampaging through New York as Tony stood there in shock.

** Guys, I know that's not the origin of the Hulk Buster. I just got tired of all the research and said, "Screw it! I do what I want!".**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: That's my secret, Cap.**

**I'm always busy.**

"This is Jane Wilson with the _Daily Bugle_. It appears that the Hulk has invaded New York and is now wreaking havoc. The mayor has issued a full evacuation of the city…"

"Sir, we have a crisis on our hands. May I proceed with Code Green?"

"Anthony Stark, what did you do?!"

Tony had stood, flabbergasted, for what seemed like hours. JARVIS, after several futile attempts to get his attention, had played the news over the speakers. It wasn't too long before Pepper had been alerted by JARVIS and she ran to Tony's weapon storage. Tony finally moved, blinking his eyes and turning his head towards Pepper as she looked from him to the recently smashed hole in the ceiling.

"Pepper, I-"

Pepper raised her hand to dismiss his excuse. "I don't want to hear it, Tony. Just go bring him back!"

Her words brought about action as Tony yelled to JARVIS to prepare the Mark VII. He ran up the stairs to his closest workshop, placing the Mark VII's bracelets on his wrists as he did so. Running towards a balcony, he jumped as the suit formed around him, his vision momentarily turning dark until the mechanical blue glow came to life before him. JARVIS immediately gave him the Hulk's coordinates as Tony flew towards his destination.

"Iron Man, do you copy?" Steve Rogers' voice came over Stark's speakers.

"Don't you have a freezer to play in, Capsicle? I've got this."

"Stark, what did you do?" Natasha's Russian accent came smoothly through the speakers.

"I'm working on it. Go back to being Fury's lackey."

"I totally called this. Tasha, you owe me twenty bucks."

"Buzz off, Bird Brain!"

"What, the genius couldn't come up with a better taunt?"

"That's enough!" Steve interjected. "We have a situation going on right now and there are lives in danger. We can talk about this when we get the doctor back. We need to make a plan."

"Where are you right now?" Tony asked, seeing the green behemoth in the distance.

"We are in pursuit. ETA is five minutes."

"Good, stay that far away. I need you all to evacuate this half of Manhattan."

"Mr. Stark, that's-"

"You aren't the only one who can make orders, Cap.," Tony interrupted. "Just let me take care of this one."

There was a brief moment of silence before Natasha spoke.

"Understood. Widow, out."

Tony lapped the distance between himself and Hulk, dodging a car thrown in his direction and flying just high enough to be face-to-face with him.

"Hey, Big Guy."

"LEAVE HULK ALONE!" the Hulk roared as he threw a meaty fist towards Tony. Tony propelled away from the fists as they continued to fall one by one.

"Hey, listen! You need to chill out, okay? You're putting people in danger. That's not really a nice thing to do."

"Why should Hulk care?!" As if to add emphasis to this, he smashed the ground, cracking the asphalt and causing a miniature earthquake. Cars alarmed shrieked and the people shrieked louder. Hulk roared at the noise and leaped away, Iron Man taking flight and following him.

After less than a few minutes, the Hulk landed by the Statute of Liberty, causing tourists to scurry in terror as Tony landed several feet away.

"Listen, bud. We seriously need to talk," Tony said through his intercom. Hulk looked up, his face quickly falling from surprise to anger.

"Tinman want to kill Hulk. Hulk strongest there is!" Hulk roared, stomping towards the armored avenger.

"Dude, you and Bruce seriously need to work on your listening skills," Tony muttered as a fist plowed him into the ground.

Tony coughed and wheezed, feeling a warm liquid on his chin.

"O-okay… I deserved that," he winced as he let out a breath. It felt like his lungs were being stabbed.

Hulk stalked over to Tony and raised a fist, ready to strike.

"Bruce. I'm so sorry, Bruce," he whispered.

"All agents, move in!" There was a roar that cut through the air and all Tony could see was darkness.

**Scumbag writer:**

**Doesn't update in forever,**

**Leaves you on a cliffhanger.**

**Anyway, thank you all for your support and patience. I had my graduation ceremony and then immediately started law school. It takes up a bunch of time but it is fun to write in my free time. This story will end soon because, let's face it, I've been winging it since chapter three. Hopefully I'll update soon! :D**

**As for the ending, "Dudes, you're on your own!"**


	6. Chapter 6

**So, I was just going to have Tony follow Bruce until he changed back, have them forgive each other, and then end the story, but, nooo. My brain told me to add more drama to the story, so here we are. I was so close to finishing this story... so close! **

**Thor is in Asgard right now for all of those who were wondering. Does anyone think I should bring him in? He would probably play a very minor role.**

**Also, never, ever, never, drink frappuchinos. I had one for the first time today. Let's just say that I got two classes worth of homework done in an hour, but I was on a higher sugar plane than anyone else today. It got me to write, so I guess it all works out.**

Tony woke with a start.

He blinked several times and groaned, the piercing fluorescent lights reflecting off of the white walls. A beep sounded shrilly in his ears, making his head pound harder. The white walls, the fluorescent lights, the beeps of machinery.

Dammit, he was in medical.

Steve Rogers looked up from his newspaper with wide eyes at the sound of a groan, noticing his ally had awoken.

"Mr. Stark, you're awake."

"No shit, Sherlock. Why am I in medical and where the Hell are we?"

Steve frowned at the name, understanding the reference, but let it pass. "You don't remember?"

Tony quirked an eyebrow in confusion and then his face froze, realization hitting him like shit hitting the fan. Rogers noticed it just in time.

"Oh, fuck! Bruce!" Tony sat up and cried out, Steve standing from his chair and placing his hands on his shoulders to slowly lower him down.

"Be careful!" Steve scolded. Once he knew that Tony was fine, he took his seat and brought it closer to Tony's bed. "You broke a few ribs, have some good knocks to the head, and you're bruised all over. We were able to get you and Bruce to the Hellicarrier though. You were lucky that you had your suit on."

"I wish I hadn't at this point…"

Before Steve could respond, Natasha and Clint had walked into the room, obviously alerted to Stark's state from security footage.

"Hey there, bolt-for-brains," Clint greeted as he grabbed a chair and sat down. Natasha remained stoic as usual, giving Stark her usual poker face as she stood in the doorway.

"Where is he?" Tony asked.

Clint's smile fell and he looked away. Steve just sat there awkwardly. Natasha sighed, knowing that it would be up to her to break the news.

"He's in Loki's old prison," she stated coolly. He had come to an hour ago, but he saw where he was and lost it again. We're currently waiting for him to come back."

Tony bowed his head in shame, much to Natasha's surprise. It took a lot to break the man's prideful mask.

"Tony, what happened?" Clint asked.

Everybody looked expectedly towards the billionaire as he sighed, his eyes averting their gazes.

"He… He found the Hulk Buster."

The three raised their eyebrows in unison.

"In English, please?" Steve asked.

Tony sent a half-hearted glare his way. "It's a suit I made… when I was in the weapons' business. I was ordered to make a suit that would make any soldier capable of taking down the Hulk. I signed off on it like it was nothing; like Bruce was just a name on paper. The military canceled their order of it, so I finished it and kept it in my stash of created weapons. He was looking around the tower earlier and he came across it. He…had the code to pass the security system and JARVIS told him everything."

Natasha muttered a curse in Russian as Clint groaned and Steve's eyes widened in shock.

"That's what caused him to…change?" Steve asked.

"Obviously, Cap.," Clint muttered.

"But, we're a team now! He should trust us to know that we wouldn't do anything to harm him…"

"That's just it, Captain," Natasha said softly. "I understand how he feels. He's gone his whole life unable to trust anyone except for the ones he loved and even they had to be pushed away. He probably thought that being on a team was different; that maybe he could start to trust again. Him finding the 'Hulk Buster' must have hurt so much."

"Which is why I need to get out of here," Tony stated firmly. He started to rise, slower this time, and Steve immediately got up and pushed him gently back down.

"That's a no-can-do, Tin-Head," Clint said as he got up from his seat. "You both need to recover. It's probably not going to be a while until he comes back anyway." Clint and Natasha headed towards the door.

Before walking out, Natasha stopped and murmured sadly to Tony, "Trust me. You will have plenty of time to see him."

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, a doctor came in with pain medicine and all Tony could see was darkness.

**Okay, I'm just going to end the chapter here. I'm sorry about the shortness. The point-of-view will be switching and I feel that it needs a whole chapter of its own. I will try my best to make it worth it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**ERMAHGERD I am SO sorry! I was planning on only waiting two weeks to update but things got out of hand and I accidently the whole thing. I hope this chapter will make it up to you! Thank you all for still reading.**

Grey, nothing but grey.

That was all he could see.

Granted, it was a change from the green he could not escape from. However, the grey walls surrounding him did nothing to appease him.

"Doctor Banner?"

Oh, that's right. He wasn't just in that large, grey room. He was in a smaller, glass cage inside of the grey room.

"Doctor Banner, can you hear me?"

Of course he was in there; it was only a matter of time. For being such a genius, how could he have been so stupid?

"Doctor Banner."

Bruce's eyes focused on the vibrant red in the grey room. Standing several feet in front of him was Natasha Romanov. Bruce rubbed his eyes with his hands and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"I remember," he muttered weakly, his throat tight and raw from previous events.

"What do you remember?" Her voice was calm and as considerate as the Black Widow could get.

"I… I lost control. Agent Romanov, how many-?"

"Fourteen."

Bruce's head snapped up at Natasha, eyes wide in shock. His body trembled as he slowly shook his head and hid it once more in his hands.

Natasha stood in silence, eyes averting Banner's body as it shook with silent sobs.

"W-where are you t-taking me?"

Natasha bit her lip and let out a muttered curse. "I'm so sorry, Bruce."

"No you aren't," he mumbled. "Just tell me where SHIELD is taking me."

"Fury can't keep the council quiet anymore. You're being sent to The Cube."

Bruce sat in silence, his head still in his hands. Natasha sighed, turned on her heel, and left the room, the door shutting Bruce into solitary.

Tony's eyes fluttered open, taking in the blinding white room. The sounds of machines beeped to the rhythm of his heart.

How long had it been since he first woke up here?

He groaned as he pushed himself upright, slowly. His ribs were making a decent recovery but still ached when he turned his body. He examined his arms, now with specks of purple around them.

He didn't even want to see his face.

Tony looked around the room. It was empty and quiet. Somebody decided to leave Tony Stark alone in a hospital room expecting him to play the good patient. There was no way anybody could be that stupid.

"Get out here, Bird-Brain!" Tony yelled after clearing his throat. A curse could be heard from the air vents as Clint Barton dropped easily from the ceiling vents.

"How the fuck did you know I was there?!" Clint said exasperated.

"How the fuck did you even get in the air vent?"

"Touché."

Clint pulled a chair up to Tony's bed and plopped down onto it as Tony stretched and straightened out his back.

"Where are we?"

"The same place you were last time."

"When was last time?"

"Almost three days ago."

"Three days? Whatever you guys gave me, where can I get some?"

"Dude, I have no clue."

A moment of silence passed as Tony's thoughts started to catch back up to his drug-induced mind.

"What happened while I was out?"

Clint's lips turned downwards, his face thoughtful. "Well, Cap. discovered day time soaps and-"

"For fuck's sake, Barton, that's not what I meant."

Clint let out a groan and covered his head in his hands. "I know."

"Where's Banner?"

Clint looked back up at Tony, his eyes averting the other's. "He's on board the Hellicarrier with us."

"…And where is the carrier going?" Tony asked when Clint stopped.

"…The Cube."

Tony stopped, silencing the room to the point that a person could hear a pin drop.

"Wait. The Cube, as in, the place where the government sends all of the super villains in order to make them 'good'?" Clint turned his head away. "Are you fucking serious?! Barton, you know what these people want with Bruce! We can't just-"

"-We just did, Mr. Stark."

Both Avengers turned towards the door as Director Fury and Commander Hill strode in.

"Fury-"

"-I know the circumstances of this, Mr. Stark, but there isn't anything we can do. Our hands are tied."

"Then cut the fucking rope! This can't happen!"

"Then maybe Doctor Banner shouldn't have been with you in the first place, Stark," Hill cut in. "If Banner wasn't staying in New York, this-"

"This what? He could have been out in some third world country, living off of scraps and the kindness of others when he could be in civilization, helping millions more people with a mind like his?"

"That's not your call, Stark."

"Well, maybe he should be allowed to make his own call."

"That's enough!" Fury interrupted. "Banner lost control and killed several people this time. This isn't including all of the other lives he's responsible for. This cannot go ignored. He's lucky that he's being sent to a rehabilitation center."

"He's not at all! That's what you people say The Cube is, but you're lying through your teeth! The Cube is where they will do nothing but run tests on him, take his blood, make _more _of him. This is the complete opposite of lucky."

"That's not what The Cube is, Stark," Fury grounded out. "This conversation is over." Fury turned and walked out, Hill following closely behind.

"Keep telling yourself that," Tony muttered darkly at their backs.

He'd been awake for a few hours now. A random agent had come in with clothes - _grey, more grey-_ and scurried out as fast as possible. Bruce guessed that they didn't make agents like they used to.

He had accepted his fate; his life-long stay at The Cube. He knew that his imprisonment was not going to be just a regular jail sentence. He'd been to The Cube before, had fought with those that came out of The Cube before.

It wasn't a rehabilitation center, it was a torture chamber.

A torture chamber that forced him to look at the monster that he was; a laboratory that tested his limitations to control the monster…

…A place that wanted to make more of him as an army.

He knew that telling Natasha this would never help him. He knew that a life of torture was meant for him.

How could he have been so foolish… so stupid! He never deserved a life of luxury, a life of happiness, even before the accident. He should have never left Calcutta. He should have never boarded the Hellicarrier.

He should have never met Tony Stark.

Bruce let out a dry laugh and shook his head once more.

"This is why you can't have nice things, Banner."

Tony was never one to be patient.

After hearing about Bruce's future imprisonment, he knew that he needed to act. Even if he couldn't stop SHIELD from sending Bruce away, he at least needed to see him one more time. He would never forgive himself.

That's why Tony started pulling out his IV's and taking off the electrodes that monitored his heart rate. Clint shot up from the noise of a heart stopping.

"What are you doing?!"

"Uh, what do you think I'm doing, Einstein?" Tony said sardonically as he pushed himself to the edge of the bed.

"Hey, you can't just do that! Somebody's going to notice the heart monitor and-"

"HEY!"

Both men looked up at the booming voice to see the super soldier watching them.

"Stark, what in God's name are you doing? Get back in bed!"

"I'd like to see you make me," Stark threatened as he slowly stood up from the bed. Steve rushed over and pushed him back down by his shoulders.

"You can't do that! You still have to recover."

"Don't bother with me, I'll be fine! I need to get to Bruce! He-" Stark paused as his anger slipped from his face, leaving him completely still.

"…Stark?" Steve asked worriedly as he placed his arm on the engineer's shoulder. Steve doubled back in surprise as Tony's entire body started shaking and vomit dripped from his mouth.

Tony fell to the ground as his body shook spastically. Steve and Clint immediately jumped into action, Clint running to get help and Steve trying to hold Tony down.

**Aaaaand, scene! Well, it looks like Mr. Stark is having some problems again. Gee, I wonder what it could be (you all will probably get it knowing what this story was ORIGINALLY supposed to be. You're all smart people.).**

**I tried to make this chapter as long as possible as an apology. Again, thanks for sticking to this story!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Bad author is bad. I know, I know. I had to do a ten page research paper along with my shit-ton of regular studies that made it to the point where if I even looked at a Word Document, I would start the Apocalypse.**

**Banner wouldn't make it a week through law school.**

**Anyway, I am here now, typing this next chapter. This story isn't going to last much longer. I am aiming to finish it before Thanksgiving because after that I will not be available for anything until after December 11****th**** (thank you, finals! *sarcasm hand raised*). Thank you all for your patience and your notes/reviews of encouragement!**

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of heels clacking on the tile of the helicarrier was the only audible sound in the room.

Pepper turned her gaze sharply at the agents who had stopped their work at the unauthorized landing of a Stark Industries jet. The agents fumbled and carried on with their work, Pepper not even blinking an eye at them. She turned her gaze forward as she entered the conference room, the doors automatically opening for her.

"Ms. Potts, guests usually call before coming over," Director Fury smirked, his eyes telling a different story.

"Cut the crap. I want my boys back."

Fury looked flabbergasted. "Do you realize who you are dealing with? This is an intelligence organization with no ties to any single country. You can't come in here with demands."

"Do you realize who _you _are dealing with? I am the CEO of one of the largest companies on this planet that, from my understanding, has funded you countless times. You are currently holding both the owner of Stark Industries and the owner's personal doctor under false imprisonment. If I don't get them back, I will not hesitate to cut all funding to your organization."

"I'm not 'falsely imprisoning' anyone on this ship," Fury said smoothly. "I'm sure you saw what Dr. Banner did to the city. Banner is being taken to a prison for the likes of him. He will not be released into anyone's custody but a warden's."

"After all that he has done for you, after saving the Earth that you couldn't protect yourself as a so-called intelligence agency for the _protection_ of Earth, this is what you do to him?"

"Banner nearly destroyed this planet on several occasions. We are not giving him a free pass just for that one incident. As you said, Ms. Potts, this is an intelligence organization based solely on protecting the Earth. We aren't simply going to release a threat to the Earth."

Pepper glared in silence as Fury turned away from her. "As for Stark, I wouldn't advise taking him just yet, as much as I want you to. There are some…problems."

Pepper quirked an eyebrow. "What kind of problems?"

"What in God's name is going on?!" Steve yelled from behind the glass.

Doctors had rushed Steve and Clint out of the room as they quickly performed CPR while Tony was on the floor. They had recently stabilized him, but Stark was still looking worse for wear. Steve and Clint were stuck looking at Tony through the glass window of the adjacent hallway.

"Captain, chill out. We can get some answers when Tony wakes up. Until then, we should just-."

"Tony!"

The two Avengers turned to see Pepper stalk up to the glass and peered inside as the agent escorting her turned and left the hallway.

"Oh, you're Pepper Potts! I'm Clint Barton. Wish we could've met under better circumstances." Clint reached out one hand and rubbed the back of his head with the other. Pepper turned and shook it half-heartedly.

"Ma'am, do you know what's going on?" Steve asked.

Pepper looked up at Rogers warily. "I might have an idea. What has been happening with him?"

"Well, when he finally woke up after a few days, he seemed normal but then he suddenly started shaking and vomiting and the doctors had to do CPR and…" Rogers stopped before he got carried away.

"The radiation poisoning," Pepper whispered, her eyes growing wide.

"Excuse me, Ma'am?"

Pepper met the two men's' gazes. "Radiation poisoning. Tony had suffered from it after that missile went off in New York. I got Bruce to come treat him since I couldn't find anyone else with his level of knowledge that Tony could trust."

Clint frowned and Steve scoffed. "Apparently he can't trust us if he didn't even tell us what was wrong with him," Rogers muttered.

"It was only a matter of time. I'm sure that he would have told you all after he had recovered. He hasn't been receiving his treatments during the time he was unconscious, has he?"

"Like I said, Ma'am. Nobody even knew about it."

"Okay, I know someone who can fix this."

"…Bruce?"

Banner's eyes shot open from their recent sleep and looked up towards the strawberry-blonde woman standing in front of him.

"…Pepper?"

Pepper smiled and sat on her knees, eye-level to Bruce as he sat up-right. "Have you been doing okay?"

Bruce frowned as Pepper quickly answered for herself, "I mean, I know what happened. I just wanted to know if you are pulling through all of this."

"I can't really do anything about my…predicament. I haven't been in charge of my life in a long time."

Pepper sighed and looked away from the tiredness of Bruce's eyes. "I'm trying so hard to get you out of here; to get you home."

"Home? Where is home, Ms. Potts?"

Pepper shot her gaze back at Banner. "It's with your team! With your friends!" she sighed. "Look, I know more than anybody that Tony is an asshole. He should have told you about his old life as a weapons maker, but things are different now. I mean, he has blueprints of an entire floor of Stark Tower just for you. He's currently trying to open up an entirely new job position that makes you work with him as much as possible. He wants you to work with him, he wants you to be near him, but most importantly he wants you to be his friend! Tony has been doing everything he possibly can to make the team – especially you – as comfortable and at home as possible. Yeah, Tony is a genius. He's just a completely, hopeless idiot when it comes to expressing it. Take it from me; I'm his girlfriend!"

Bruce stared in shock as Pepper gave her speech.

"He… He did all of that… for me?"

"Absolutely! He wants to be your friend; someone that he can trust and have you trust him back. Please accept his friendship; you're one of the first people I approve of," Pepper smiled softly.

"Well, I would love to, more than anything, work with you two. I don't have a choice in the matter right now, even if I wasn't being sent away. I'm too dangerous."

"Tony is the epitome of danger." Bruce allowed himself to smile at that. "In fact, he needs you right now. I think that he is suffering from the radiation poisoning again; he had been out for a few days and nobody knew to give him any treatments. Fury is being a dick and won't let you out, but I can have JARVIS set up for you to have a video feed of him. "

Bruce sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"For my friend, I will help him one last time until I am forced to never see him again."

**ERMERGERD, finally! I need to get some sleep. I hope this wasn't too sappy, but I needed for you guys to know that Tony does deserve forgiveness and isn't a bad guy… he's just a dumbass when it comes to human relationships. **

**Anyway, I think the next chapter will be the last chapter. I will get that one out before Thanksgiving. Until then, I must go. My planet needs me.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I said that I would finish the story before Thanksgiving… I did it a week after Thanksgiving. Meh. Potato/Potahtoe.**

Pepper had been able to get a video feed on Tony through her tablet. When she finished installing the web-cam in the corner, she gave her unconscious boyfriend a soft kiss on the cheek and then rushed towards Bruce's cell. After getting off of the elevator, she gave a glare and turned her head up at the agents guarding the entrance to Banner's prison.

"Here," Pepper smiled softly at Bruce as she handed him the tablet. "Is there anything that you can do?"

Bruce took the tablet and squinted at the screen, his glasses being long gone. There was a pregnant pause in the cell as Bruce watched Tony's actions, looking at the data presented on the other half of the screen and Pepper could only sit across from him, rolling her thumbs nervously. Her eyes glazed over, imagining the worst scenario that could come out of this.

"Pepper?" Bruce called softly. Pepper jumped up slightly and shot her gaze towards him. He gave her a reassuring smile. "I think he'll be fine. Just put him back on his treatments and tell him to take it easy."

Pepper smiled widely as she brought her hand up to wipe away a few tears. "You try telling him to take it easy!"

It had been a few hours since Tony was put back on his treatments. He was recovering much faster than before, the doctors claiming that it was just a small episode. Pepper stayed with him until he woke up and when he did, she told him everything that had happened.

Eventually, Pepper left to rest; the worry of Bruce being angry with Tony, the trip to the hellicarrier, and Tony's episode wearing her out. The nurses grew tired of Tony since Pepper wasn't there to keep him still and allowed him to move around the hellicarrier in a wheelchair with company. Tony had decided that since Clint was already there hiding in his air shaft that Clint would accompany him.

Clint pushed Tony into the elevator and shut the door.

"Where do you want to go?" Clint crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"I need to give my compliments to the doctor, if you don't mind. And if you do mind, then you can fly away right now because I- ."

Clint wordlessly pushed the button down to Banner's floor and smirked at Stark. Tony closed his mouth and turned away. "Very good."

The elevator opened to a dimly-lit hallway. Clint moved behind Tony and pushed his chair down to the end of the hall. He silently took out a key-card and swiped it for verification. The doors unlocked and automatically opened and the two Avengers went into the room.

Clint stopped in the doorway and walked around Tony, holding up a finger at him and mouthing at him to hold on. He walked to the main guard and all Tony could hear was something about "Avengers business". The guard looked down at Hawkeye warily, turned towards Banner's cell uneasily, and then looked back at Barton. The guard announced to the others to take leave, and they soon left (some graciously).

Barton walked back towards Stark and leaned against the wall. He grinned at him and waved his arm towards Banner. "The floor is yours, Mr. Stark."

Tony nodded and shot Barton a grateful look as he wheeled himself over to Bruce. They both looked worse-for-wear, their hair disheveled and their eyes with dark circles under them. Bruce looked at Tony indifferently.

"So, I heard that you saved my life again."

"I'm starting to lose count."

Tony smiled and wheeled closer to the cell. "Listen, Banner. I know what you thought when you saw that suit I had. I did terrible, terrible things in the past. I was the Merchant of Death. I didn't care about anybody but myself back then…" Bruce raised an eyebrow. "…Okay, not as much as I did. I'm changing for the better, apparently. Some people even want to talk to me on a personal basis." Bruce chuckled quietly at that. "I know that I can't go back in time and fix what I did in the past. Believe me, I'm still trying that out. So, I am going to do the next-best thing. You might want to make sure your shoes are tied."

Bruce looked at him with confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"

"JARVIS, unlock the doors."

Bruce's eyes grew wide in shock as the glass cell opened up in-between him and Tony. "Bruce, listen. While we're still landed and before they try to take you away, run. I hacked the security system and nobody knows about this. Do your thing; make yourself invisible again."

Bruce looked from Tony to Clint, Clint looking away from the scene and pretending to play on his phone.

"T-Tony… I… are you sure?"

Tony's face deadpanned. "Are you kidding? Aren't you supposed to be the second smartest guy in the world?"

Bruce's lips twitched upward as he maneuvered out of the cell. "Thank you."

"Thank you for, you know, being a friend…saving my life," Tony called to Bruce as he headed towards the door after shaking Clint's hand. "Keep in touch."

"Thank you for saving my life, Tony Stark," Bruce waved as the door closed.

After a moment of silence as they heard footsteps down the hall, Clint turned to him.

"We are in so much trouble."

"We've been in more trouble than this."

"True that."

**HOLY SHIT I AM DONE. I have never EVER completed any kind of story that was more than one chapter. I am not too thrilled about how I wrote it but I've had this ending in my head since chapter two. I hope you all can be okay with this chapter; I just have WAY too much studying to do. Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, and supporting! I'll see you all next time!**

**By the way, I think my next long fanfiction will be the alternate universe episodes of Adventure Time… Finn the Human and Jake the Dog.**


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